Trump's allies claim the US could 'do a trade deal in a week' with the UK

LONDON — Allies of US President Donald Trump told Prime Minister
Theresa May that the two countries could "do a trade deal in a
week,"
according to the Financial Times.

May this week will become the first foreign leader to meet with
Trump since his swearing in, and she is expected to lay the
groundwork for a trade deal with the US as well as discuss how
the two nations can fight terrorism.

But above all, according to the Financial Times report, May and
her Cabinet are "anxious" about the meeting because the
government is keen to strike a US-UK trade deal as soon as
possible.

Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, this week said:
"We've always had that special relationship with Britain. He's
had a great conversation with her and he looks forward to having
her here. But we can always be closer."

The EU's foreign-affairs commissioner, Federica Mogherini, said,
"It's absolutely clear on the EU side that as long as a country
is a member state of the EU, which is something the UK is at the
moment, there are no negotiations bilaterally on any trade
agreement with third parties."

The TPP deal, which would lower tariffs for 12 Pacific Rim
countries including Japan and Mexico but excluding China, was
negotiated under the Obama administration. It had not yet been
ratified by Congress, however.

Trump has previously said he wants to put US interests at the
heart of international relationships. He made the
debate over free trade one of the central topics of his
campaign after criticizing China, Mexico, and Japan. Trump argued
in favor of
ripping up trade deals, said the North American Free Trade
Agreement was "the worst trade deal in the history of the
country," and called TPP "a
rape of our country."

At the beginning of December, Trump said the US should view trade
"almost
as a war" and vowed to implement protectionist policies. He
said his administration would renegotiate trade deals and "defeat
the enemy on jobs."

"And we have to look at it almost as a war," he continued,
"because that's what's happened to us. That's what's happened to
our workers."